Lindelof has stated that his version is a “remix” of the original material with many of the characters remaining intact. So far we know Regina King, Jeremy Irons, Don Johnson, Tim Blake Nelson, and Louis Gossett Jr. are amongst the cast; HBO’s official line for the show is: “Set in an alternate history where “superheroes” are treated as outlaws, Watchmen embraces the nostalgia of the original groundbreaking graphic novel while attempting to break new ground of its own.”

Lindelof explained his decision to go in a new direction with the project in a May open letter to fans:

“First and foremost, if you are angry that I’m working on Watchmen, I am sorry,” he writes at one point in the letter, which explains both his history with the comic book series and his ambivalence in bringing it to the small screen. “I have an immense amount of respect for [Watchmen co-creator] Alan Moore. He is an extraordinary talent of mythic proportion. I wrote him a letter, parts of which are not dissimilar to this one, because I owed him an explanation as to why I’m defying his wishes [in working on the series].”